OPEN ACCESS

Research paper

Experimental convective heat

transfer studies in a turbulent flow
regime using alumina-water
nanofluids
K.B. Anoop1,*, Sarit K. Das2, S. Kabelac3
1

Mechanical Engineering Program.

Texas A and M University at Qatar, Qatar
Department of Mechanical
Engineering. Indian Institute of
Technology Madras, India
3
Institute for Thermodynamics, Leibniz
Universitat Hannover, Germany
2

*Email: anoop.baby@qatar.tamu.edu

ABSTRACT
The present work investigates forced convective heat transfer characteristics of alumina-water
nanofluids in a turbulent flow regime. Nanofluids are dilute colloidal suspensions with nano-sized
particles (,100 nm) dispersed in a basefluid. The thermal conductivity values are measured by a
steady state method, using a guarded hot plate (GHP) apparatus customized for liquids. The forced
convective heat transfer characteristics are evaluated with the help of a test loop maintained in a
constant heat flux condition. Controlled experiments under a turbulent flow regime are carried out
using four particle concentrations (0.5vol%, 1vol%, 2vol% and 4vol %). The experimental results show
that, the thermal conductivity of nanofluids increases with an increase in particle concentration and
closely follow effective medium theories. However, the enhancement of heat transfer coefficients in the
turbulent regime is observed to be within the measurement uncertainty.
Keywords: guarded hot plate, thermal conductivity, viscosity, effective medium theory

http://dx.doi.org/
10.5339/connect.2013.39
Submitted: 29 September 2013
Accepted: 28 November 2013
2013 Anoop, Das, Kabelac,
licensee Bloomsbury Qatar
Foundation Journals. This is an open
access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution license CC BY 3.0, which
permits unrestricted use,
distribution and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work
is properly cited.

Cite this article as: Anoop KB, Das SK, Kabelac S. Experimental convective heat transfer studies
in a turbulent flow regime using alumina-water nanofluids, QScience Connect 2013:39
http://dx.doi.org/10.5339/connect.2013.39

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Anoop et al. QScience Connect 2013:39

INTRODUCTION
Cooling of thermal equipment has been one of the vital problems faced since the dawn of
industrialization. Constant efforts to improve the heat transfer capabilities of cooling fluids have been
carried out since then. One strategy to improve the heat transfer capabilities of cooling fluids was to
suspend solid particles in them. The use of micron-sized particles in a cooling fluid brought technical
problems of sedimentation and clogging, which restricted their applicability. It was understood that the
thermal conductivity of suspensions increased with the surface area to volume ratio of the particles
used. This triggered the concept of applying nano-sized particles in suspensions, which efficiently
coped with the technological ability of the 21st century to produce nano-sized particles with controlled
material properties. The use of nano-sized particles for suspensions was initially proposed by Masuda
et al.1 Extensive research followed by Choi and co-workers2 from Argonne National Laboratories, whose
investigation on heat transfer characteristics, introduced a new class of engineered fluids called
nanofluids. Nanofluids by definition are dilute colloidal suspensions with nano-sized particles
(, 100 nm) dispersed into a basefluid. Several experiments were conducted to investigate the heat
transfer capabilities of nanofluids. Initial experimental observations on thermal conductivity
enhancement in alumina-water nanofluids showed an enhancement of thermal conductivity by 30% for
a nanoparticle concentration of 4.5 vol%.1,3 Whereas, for similar nanoparticle concentration for
alumina-water nanofluids, Wang et al.4 in their study using a steady state parallel-plate apparatus,
could get an enhancement of thermal conductivity by only 14%. A similar order of enhancement was
observed by Das et al.5 in their studies using a Temperature Oscillation (TO) measurement technique.
In addition, the majority of literature showed that the thermal conductivity augmentation follows an
increasing trend with a decrease in particle size, an increase in particle loading and an increase in
temperature.6,7 On the contrary to the above studies, which showed anomalous enhancement in
thermal conductivity, a few studies have shown that the effective thermal conductivity of the nanofluids
exhibited no anomalous enhancements and it could be predicted accurately by the model equation,
such as effective medium theory for suspensions.8 Zhang et al.9 using short-hot-wire probes coated
with a pure Al2O3 thin film (to prevent electrical leakage), also demonstrated that there was no
anomalous enhancement. Similar observations were reported by Beck et al.,10 who investigated the
thermal conductivity of alumina-ethylene glycol nanofluids using a liquid metal transient hot wire
apparatus. Enhancement of thermal conductivity with increase in temperature was not observed in
above cases. Observations of International Nanofluid Property Benchmark Exercise (INPBE) on thermal
conductivity of nanofluids also revealed parallel results.11
Similar to observations of thermal conductivity enhancement, forced convective heat transfer
characteristics of nanofluids also showed mixed performances. The majority of publications showed a
heat transfer enhancement in the range of 1014%.12 The first work on convective flow and heat
transfer of nanofluids was presented by Pak and Cho,13 even before Choi and his group introduced the
term nanofluids. They referred it as dispersed fluid with sub-micron particles. It was observed that in
the turbulent flow regime the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid was about 312 % lower
than that of pure water (when compared at the same average velocity of fluid in the pipe). On the
contrary, Xuan and Li14 observed an increase in heat transfer coefficient by 40% at the same velocity for
Cu-water nanofluid in a turbulent flow regime. Heris et al.15 conducted experiments using copper
oxide-water and alumina-water nanofluids, in both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. Increased
enhancement was reported for alumina nanofluids when compared to that with copper oxide
nanofluid. They observed a 40% enhancement in heat transfer coefficient for a particle concentration of
3vol%. He et al.,16 investigated the convective heat transfer of titania nanofluids and obtained a
maximum enhancement , 12% for 1.18vol% in the heat transfer coefficient for laminar as well as
turbulent flow regimes. Wen and Ding focused on the laminar heat transfer in the entrance region of a
tube flow using alumina-water nanofluids. They observed a significant enhancement in heat transfer in
the entrance region and it decreased with axial distance. Anoop et al.17 investigated the effect of
particle size in convective heat transfer nature of a developing flow in a laminar regime. It was observed
that the nanofluid with 45 nm particles exhibited higher heat transfer coefficient than that with 150 nm
particles. Enhancement in the laminar developed region was shown by Hwang et al.18 Here convective
heat transfer coefficient of the alumina-water nanofluid increased by 8% for a concentration of
0.3 vol%. Contradictory to the above observations, two recent studies from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology claimed that there was no anomalous heat transfer enhancement when using nanofluids.
Williams et al.19 in their studies with alumina-water and zirconia-water nanofluids in turbulent flow

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regime showed that if the measured temperature and loading dependent thermal conductivities and
viscosities of the nanofluids were used, then conventional correlations would accurately reproduce the
convective heat transfer and viscous pressure loss characteristics. They argued that nanofluids do not
exhibit any anomalous heat transfer behaviour. Similar observations were made in a laminar regime by
Rea et al.20
The rheological characteristics of nanofluids were observed to be higher than the theoretical
predictions of classical viscosity models. The majority of publications show an increase in viscosity
ranging from 5 to 14% with particle loading.21 The effective viscosity of nanofluids was observed to
increase with a decrease in temperature and particle size.21 It was also observed that majority of water
based nanofluids exhibited Newtonian characteristics, whereas oil-based nanofluids exhibited
non-Newtonian nature.11
Several theoretical models were proposed to explain the anomalous heat transfer characteristics of
nanofluids. The majority of these models tried to explain the enhancement in heat transfer through
Brownian motion of nanoparticles in conjunction with aggregation and diffusion theories.12
The flattening of velocity profile, shear thinning behavior of nanofluids and thermo-phoretic forces
were argued to be the probable reasons for enhanced convective heat transfer characteristics.12,22,23
From the literature review, it is clear that many controversies still exist in the heat transfer studies of
nanofluids. Hence more experimental efforts are required to validate the real heat transfer
characteristics of nanofluids.
The present work attempts to investigate the convective heat transfer characteristics of alumina
nanofluids in turbulent flow regime. Alumina-water nanofluids are used for the investigation. Thermal
conductivity is a crucial parameter in heat transfer evaluation, and is measured using a steady state
method. The viscosity values of nanofluids are measured and included in the thermal evaluation.
METHODS
(a) Preparation of nanofluid
To conduct a proper evaluation of thermal characteristics of nanofluids, it is very important to have a stable
and homogeneous suspension. In the present study, alumina-water nanofluids were prepared in a topdown approach by dispersing commercially purchased nanopowder (Sigma Aldrich powder (No: 544833)
size: , 50 nm, with a surface area of 35 43 m2/g) into the basefluid (water). Four basic steps were
involved in the formulation of nanofluids. (a) After mixing nanopowder into the basefluid the
suspension was homogenized using a high performance disperser/stirrer (T25 digital ULTRA-TURRAX)
for 30 minutes. (b) The above solution was kept in an ultrasonic bath (35 kHz) for 2 hours. (c) A high
power ultrasonication using an ultrasonic disruptor (KLN Sys 587) was applied to the nanofluid solution
for 1 hour. The disruptor consisted of a probe attached to a sonotrode, vibrating at 20 kHz and 50 mm
amplitude. The temperature of the nanofluid sample was maintained at 228C by external cooling during
the process of sonication. (d) Further de-agglomeration was carried out by passing the suspension
through a high pressure shearing process.24 For this, a high pressure static mixer (Combi-mixer
(101-10001-F) Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik BTS GmbH), which consisted of a chamber made of micro-channels
(with gap of 70 mm each), was used. Working pressure of about 100 bar was applied for shearing.
Electro-static stabilization technique was applied to the suspension by keeping the pH value away from
the Iso-Electric Point (IEP around pH 8.925). For all the nanofluid samples the pH value was maintained
at 4.5. The suspension had a zeta potential value of 54 mV which assured good electrostatic stability.
The particle size distribution of the nanofluids prepared were measured using a Malvern Zetasizer
(Nano-ZS90). The average particle diameter obtained was observed to be approximately 100 nm
(Figure 1), which was larger than primary particle size claimed by the powder suppliers (which was
50 nm). This indicated that some agglomeration could have occurred while suspending particles in the
basefluid.24 For the present study, nanofluids were prepared with varying concentrations from
0.5 6vol%.
(b) Thermal conductivity
A steady state parallel plate apparatus was used for thermal conductivity measurement. The setup was
specially designed for liquid measurement and in close co-operation with the German Institute of
Standards. A schematic of the equipment is shown in Figure 2. The fluid sample is placed between two
parallel copper plates. At steady state, the top plate, termed the heater plate, provides the heat that

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Figure 1. Particle size distribution of nanoparticles based on number.

travels through the specimen. On the opposite side is a cold plate that provides the temperature
difference driving heat through the sample. In order to maintain a one-dimensional heat transfer, the
heat flux, from the hot plate has to flow only to the cold plate kept below. The heat losses from the top
and to the sides of the heater plate are to be minimized. For this purpose, the hot plate is shielded
towards the top by a top guard heater and towards the circumference by a heated guard ring. Typically,
the top plate is heated to a temperature 28C above the lower cold plate temperature and is separated
from each other by three small high precision quartz spacers (with very low thermal expansion
coefficient), having a thickness of exactly 1 mm each. Heating from the top and the narrow gap between
the plates helped in minimizing natural convection currents. The key point in successful running of a
GHP system lies in maintaining controlled isothermal surfaces (checked prior to the experiments using
an infrared camera), together with an accurate measurement of surface heat flux values. Isothermal
surfaces were maintained by indirect heating of plates (flat electrical heater embedded in a rubber
sheath and mounted over the plates). An optimized PID controlled heating of the main and guard
heaters, controlled by Lab-View program aided in attaining a steady state faster, as well as acquiring
sufficient data for the thermal conductivity evaluation. The setup was enclosed and immersed in a

Figure 2. Guarded hot plate experimental setup for measurement of thermal conductivity.

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constant temperature fluid. During experimentation, the temperatures of the guard heaters were
matched as closely as possible to the temperature of the hot plate. Remaining deviations were
measured and taken into account as corrections.
(c) Viscosity measurements
Viscosities of nanofluids were measured using a Physica UDS 200 Rheometer with a cone and plate
geometry (cone diameter of 75 mm and a cone angle of 18). All the experiments were conducted at a
constant gap of 0.05 mm. An initial stabilization period of 2 minutes was given for achieving constant
temperature, after which a variable shear rate, ranging from 10 to 1000 (1/sec) was applied. Since the
torque applied during the experiment was in the range 1 150 mNm, the maximum percentage error in
viscosity measurement, as specified for the equipment, was limited to 2%.
(d) Convective heat transfer coefficient
A laboratory test loop was built to investigate the convective heat transfer characteristics under
turbulent flow condition for nanofluids. Figure 3(a) and (b) show a schematic and photograph of the
test loop used. The circulation loop consists of a pulsation free vane pump (Speck Pump DS-300)
followed by a cooling chamber, turbine flow meter (KEM, MH3E/4) and a collecting tank. The turbulent
flow in the loop was maintained and varied with the help of a pump, whose flow rate was precisely
controlled by a speed controller (Danfoss VLT 2800) attached to the pump. Pressure drop across the
test section tube was measured using a pressure transducer (Contrans ASD800, in 3 different pressure
ranges viz, ^ 400mbar, ^ 2.5 bar and 010 bar). The heater section was made of a thin steel tube,
length 500 mm and 1.3 mm inner diameter. Constant heat flux was provided by a heater coil uniformly
wound along the length of the tube. DC power supply was used as the power source for the heater.
Six calibrated thermocouples (K-type) were brazed on the surface of the tube, which measured the
surface temperatures along the length of the tube. An initial un-heated length of 50 mm was provided
at the entrance in order to allow the flow to be hydro-dynamically developed. The inlet and outlet
temperatures were measured by two thermocouples immersed in the mixing chambers provided at the
inlet and exit of the test section. The fluid after passing through the heater section was collected in a
tank and then it was pumped into a cooling unit, which was a brazed plate heat exchanger.
The constant temperature fluid coming out of the heat exchanger was then passed through a calibrated
turbine flow meter towards the test section. The wall temperatures, the flow rate and the electrical
power supplied were acquired using a Keithley 2700 DAQ system, with the help of a Lab-View program.
Quantitative evaluation of the heat transfer coefficient is made by measuring the heat supplied
(which is the product of voltage and current supplied to the heater), wall temperatures and fluid
temperatures. The average heat transfer coefficient occurring is evaluated as
havg

where;

DT LMTD

q00
DT LMTD

T w;out 2 T f ;out 2 T w;in 2 T f ;in

ln T w;out 2 T f ;out =T w;in 2 T f ;in

Tw and Tf are the wall and fluid temperatures, respectively, and q00 is the heat flux applied.
The heat transfer coefficient and flow rates are non-dimensionlized as
Nu

havg D
k

and

ReD

rVD
h

The thermal conductivity value used is at the bulk mean temperature. The density and specific heat of
the nanofluid are evaluated using averaged volume fraction ratio, which is generally accepted.23

rnf 1 2 frbf frp

rC p nf 1 2 frC p bf frC p p

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Figure 3. (a) Schematic of the experimental setup used for turbulent flow studies. (b) Photograph of the
experiemtnal setup used for turbulent flow studies.

The theoretical value for heat transfer coefficient in the turbulent flow regime for validation is
evaluated using Gnielinski Correlation26 and is used for comparison.

NuD;H

f =8ReD 2 1000Pr


1 12:7f =81=2 Pr2=3 2 1

Where f 0:79 ln ReD 2 1:6422 and Pr hC p =k

During experimentation it is observed that the energy balance ratio, which is the ratio of power input
to the heater tube to the heat taken away by the fluid, is always above 0.97.

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Figure 4. Effect of pH on thermal conductivity of basefluid.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

After preparing stable alumina-water nanofluids, their thermal conductivities are measured using a
guarded hot plate (GHP) apparatus. During the measurements, there exists a vertical heat flow between
the main heater and the top guard heater, and a horizontal heat flow between heater plate and the
guard ring plate. These losses (systematic errors) have to be accounted and corrected for. After
accounting for these losses along with corrections for thermo-elements, it was observed that the
apparatus was able to measure thermal conductivity with a maximum uncertainty of 1%. Prior to the
experiments with nanofluids, the effect of basefluid pH on thermal conductivity measurement was
evaluated. It was noticed that basefluid pH did not influence the thermal conductivity, even though
the electrical conductivity was highly dependent on pH. This fact is depicted in Figure 4. Since indirect
electrical heating is applied in present GHP apparatus, the electrical conductivity of fluids will not
influence the thermal conductivity measurements. Figure 5 shows the variation in thermal conductivity
values at various concentrations and temperatures for alumina-water nanofluid. It is observed that with
an increase in particle concentration the thermal conductivity of nanofluid also increases. It may be
noticed that, with respect to temperature, the increase in thermal conductivity of nanofluids follows
a similar trend to that of the basefluid.
Viscosity measurements of both water and alumina-water nanofluids exhibited Newtonian
behavior in the shear rate range of 10 to 1000s21 at 208C. Viscosity of water measured is observed
to be approximately 1mPa.s, which practically matches with the theoretical value and it is shown in
Figure 6(a). Except for the initial part, where the effects of inertial forces are high, both basefluid and
nanofluids exhibit Newtonian characteristics. Figure 6(b) shows the variation of nanofluid viscosities
with temperature at a constant shear rate of 200s21 (where initial inertial effects are minimum). It can
be seen here that the viscosity of basefluid and nanofluids decrease with an increase in temperature.
It is also noticed that at 508C, the viscosity of 6 vol% alumina nanofluid becomes almost equal to that
of water at 208C. The above observation reveals that an inappropriate use of viscosity value could give
rise to misleading results in pumping power and in turn affects the heat transfer analysis.
A comparison of increased viscosity and thermal conductivity, as a function of volume fraction, is
shown in Figure 7. Here, the relative viscosity (ratio of viscosity of nanofluid to basefluid at a shear rate
of 200s21) and relative thermal conductivity (ratio of thermal conductivity of nanofluid to basefluid)
obtained at 208C are plotted against volume fraction (f). Classical prediction of thermal conductivity
enhancement starting from Maxwell to Hamilton Crosser, all converge to a single form (effective
medium theory), when the particle conductivity is much higher than basefluid (about 20 times), and
with minimum interfacial resistance conditions. This defines the classical effective medium theory,
where the relative thermal conductivity would be equal to 1 3f.8 From Figure 7, it is shown that the
thermal conductivity measured for alumina-water nanofluids follow the classical effective medium

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Figure 5. Thermal conductivity values measured using guarded hot plate apparatus.

theory. However, relative viscosity seems to be much higher than the conventional predictions.
Classical prediction of relative viscosity of uncharged particle suspension should follow the Einstein
equation, which is equal to 1 2.5f.24 However, for the present nanofluids, linear fitting to the
measured relative viscosity follow a relation 1 10f, which is higher than the classical prediction.
Combined contribution of particle agglomeration and electro-viscous effects due to electro-static
stabilization procedure could be the reasons for the above increase in viscosity.24
After having evaluated the thermo-physical properties, experiments are conducted in the turbulent
flow regime to evaluate the heat transfer coefficients. Initially, experiments are conducted with the
basefluid. This helped in validating the test loop and formed the basis for comparing the results with
the nanofluids. Due to experimental limitations, only four volume concentrations (0.5%, 1%, 2% and
4%) were considered for convective heat transfer studies. Pressure drop studies were carried out prior
to heat transfer experimentations. Figure 8 shows the parity plot between the measured and predicted
pressure drop. Theoretical pressure drop was evaluated using equation 7.
DP

r fLV 2
2D

The Gnielinski correlation with thermo-physical properties of nanofluids was used to evaluate the
friction factor. It is observed that the measured values of pressure drop lie within 10% of the predicted
values, with all uncertainties included. The above fact reveals that the pressure drop that occured in

Figure 6. (a) Viscosity variation with shear rate measured at 208C. (b) Viscosity variation as a function of
temperature at a shear rate of 200 s21.

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Figure 7. Viscosity and thermal conductivity variation as a function of volume fraction at 208C.

the turbulent region could be predicted once the thermo-physical transport properties of nanofluids
are known. This observation also vindicates the homogeneous nature of nanofluids used.
Convective heat transfer measurements using alumina-water nanofluids are then carried out.
It is believed here that the real nature of heat transfer enhancement could be revealed by plotting
dimensional results rather than non-dimensional ones. Both dimensional and non-dimensional plots
are presented. The maximum experimental uncertainity in the present turbulent flow loop, in Re and Nu
are estimated to be ^2.3% and ^ 2.6%, respectively.
Figure 9(a) shows the heat transfer coefficient variation plotted against the flow velocity and a
non-dimensionlized plot of the same is given in Figure 9(b). Non-dimensionalization for heat transfer
coefficient and flow velocity is carried out using the scaling factors depicted in equation (3). It is seen
that the basefluid (water), moderately follows the theoretical trend as given by Gnielinski correlation.26
At lower particle concentrations, a slight enhancement in heat transfer is observed for nanofluids, while
the enhancement deteriorates at higher concentrations. The enhancement values fall within the
uncertainty range of experimentation and hence no major enhancement in heat transfer is observed.
This is contrary to some observations in literature (Xuan and Li14), however it is in similar to the
observations made by Williams et al.19 No peculiar trend of anomalous enhancement/deterioration is
observed, as the data lie scattered within the uncertainty limits of experimentation. Exact reasons for
this cannot be ascertained, however given below are some plausible explanations.
Major transport mechanisms in a turbulent flow are by eddies and by energy dissipation of eddies.
From an analysis, in line with Buongiorno,23 it may be seen that particles in a nanofluid cannot make an
individual effect as they move along with the eddies. It may be seen that the smallest eddy would be
much larger than the particle sizes involved and there would not be any major slip motion between
particles and eddies, giving rise to an extra heat transfer effect. The largest eddy would be the size of
the tube and smallest one, according to Kolmogorovs scale, would be , 1.3 mm (Re)23/4 , 1 mm in
size. Hence the particles in the flow would be easily carried along with eddies.
Another evaluation based on particle stopping distance also revels similar observations. Particle
stopping distance, is the distance a particle can move by inertia once the eddies have come to rest.
If these particles could penetrate into the laminar sub-layer, it could influence the sub-layer
characteristics and thereby increase the heat transfer. For the present flow situation, based on
definition given by Buongiorno,23 the particle stopping distance is of the order of 1 nm. The laminar
sub-layer thickness near the wall (from definition) would be having a thickness of 3 mm. Thus the
particle stopping distance is far less than the laminar sub-layer thickness, and hence the particles
cannot penetrate into the sub-layer to alter the rate of heat transfer.
From the above scaling analysis, it is observed that the nanoparticles individually cannot have
an effect in the flow and the heat transfer characteristics would be overridden by the eddy mixing
characteristics. Thus, in the turbulent regime, the overall effect on heat transfer is caused only by

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10

water

Measured pressure drop (bar)

0.5vol%Alumina-water

+15%

1vol%Alumina-water

2vol%Alumina-water
4vol%Alumina-water

15%

2
4
6
8
Predicted pressure drop (bar)

10

Figure 8. Parity plot comparing measured pressure drop and estimated pressure drop for turbulent flow.

thermo-physical property changes. The effect of thermo-physical properties on the heat transfer
characteristics of nanofluids in turbulent flow regime is discussed next.
As observed from the measurements for alumina-water nanofluids, the thermal conductivity,
viscosity and density values increases with volume fraction, whereas the heat capacity decreases with
an increase in particle concentration. In addition to the above, increase in viscosity is observed to be
much higher than the increase in thermal conductivity. From the fundamental knowledge of heat
transfer, it is known that viscosity will not influence the heat transfer coefficient in a fully developed
laminar flow, however, it will affect in the case of a turbulent flow conditions. The above fact can be
easily understood by analyzing the two basic situations of fully developed laminar flow and fully
developed turbulent flow at constant heat flux condition. For the above condition, the effect of thermophysical properties on heat transfer coefficient would finally take the form as given by Equation 8 and
Equation 9, respectively:
Nu 4:36 ) h a k
Nu 0:023Nu 0:8 Pr0:4 ) ha

k 0:6 C p0:4 r 0:8

h 0:4

8
9

Figure 9. (a) Heat transfer coefficient variation with velocity. (b) Non-dimensionalized heat transfer coefficient
variation, with Reynolds number.

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Figure 10. Heat transfer coefficient ratio for varying concentration of nanofluids.

It is noticed that the effect of increase in thermal conductivity is more pronounced in laminar flow
than in turbulent flow. When the increase in viscosity is very high, it can result in the deterioration of
heat transfer coefficient along with a reduction in the Cp value. The interplay between increase in
thermal conductivity and viscosity is depicted in Figure 10. Here the heat transfer coefficient ratio
(ratio of heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid to basefluid) is evaluated from Equation 9 for
alumina-water nanofluids. Ck and Ch are the coefficients of thermal conductivity enhancement and
viscosity enhancement, respectively (Equations 10 and 11).27
k nf
1 Ckf
k bf

10

hnf
1 C hf
hbf

11

When the Ch value is less (eg. Ch 2.5), a moderate increase in thermal conductivity (Ck 3) gives
enhancement in heat transfer coefficient. However, when Ch is higher (Ch 10) when compared to Ck
(eg. Ck 3), which is similar to the present experimental case, slight deterioration in heat transfer
coefficient is observed. Thus, it may be inferred that the experimentally observed deterioration (as in
present case) is brought about by the changes in thermo-physical properties of nanofluids
CONCLUSION
Evaluation of forced convective heat transfer coefficient under a constant heat flux condition is carried
out in a turbulent flow regime with four particle concentrations (0.5vol%, 1vol%, 2vol% and 4vol %) of
alumina-water nanofluids. The experimental observations showed that the enhancement of thermal
conductivity with increase in particle concentration, which matches with the predictions of effective
medium theories for suspensions. The nanofluids exhibited Newtonian behavior, however, the increase
in viscosity is found to be much higher than classical predictions. No major trend in heat transfer
enhancement is observed under turbulent flow conditions. The experimental results were scattered
within the experimental uncertainty limits. The nanoparticles were not able to impart individual slip
motion under turbulent flow. Hence, particles were moving with eddies and enhancements and were
directly related to the changes in thermo-physical properties of nanofluids.

Acknowledgements
During the study, Anoop K. B. was an exchange scholar from IIT Madras, India and would like to thank
Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) for providing financial support for the exchange program.

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Nomenclature
Cp
D
f
h
k
Nu
P
Pr
q 00
Re
T
r
h
f

Specific heat [J/kgK]

Diameter of the tube [m]
Friction factor
Heat transfer coefficient [W/m2K]
Thermal conductivity [W/m K]
Nusselt number
Pressure [Pa]
Prandtl number
Heat flux [W/m2]
Reynolds number
Temperature [K]
Density [kg/m3]
Viscosity [Pa s]
Volume fraction

Subscripts
avg
bf
f
in
LMTD
nf
out
p
w

average
basefluid
fluid
inlet
Log Mean Temperature Difference
nanofluid
outlet
particle
wall

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